BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – JUNE 17: Confetti falls from thhe sky after Boston Celtics 106-88 win against the Dallas Mavericks in Game Five of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden on June 17, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
In this millennium, compiling a summary of Boston championships is something of a never-ending task. In that way, it’s a little like home ownership. As soon as you finish one project, there always seems to be another.
But those are good problems to have.
Now that the Celtics have dispatched the Dallas Mavericks for the 18th title in franchise history, it felt like a good time to revisit the city’s historic run to the start of this millennium, during which Boston has now won 13 titles in 22 years, including at least one in each of the four major North American team sports. The Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins have gone a collective 13-7 in final games/series, a winning percentage of .650 against what is, theoretically, the toughest competition in sports. To this point, only the Bruins have failed to win multiple championships, though they did make three appearances in the Stanley Cup finals between 2011-2019.
Where you rank all these championships is entirely up to you, but suffice it to say that championships are truly like fingerprints, each possessing distinguishing characteristics. The most rewarding of those championships? You might say the 2004 Red Sox. The most heart-stopping? Probably the 2014 Patriots. In the wake of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, the 2013 Red Sox title meant a great deal to the community. The 2011 Bruins run may have been the most rewarding. Regardless, each of the 13 had their own story, some (like the 2001 Patriots) associated with beginnings and others (like the 2018 Patriots) associated with endings.
These Celtics? Well, they could be both. Boston has been tracking toward this title for several years after all, beginning when Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum each was selected with the third pick of consecutive NBA drafts. Since that time, the Celtics have played in six conference championships, bringing their total in this millennium to 10. (Boston teams overall have made a resounding 33 trips to the league semifinals in the 2000s – 13 for the Patriots, 10 for the Celtics, seven for the Red Sox and three for the Bruins.) And yet, now that Brown and Tatum have entered their peak years, one can’t help but wonder if the duo is merely beginning their own championship era.
Today, we stop asking if Tatum and Brown can win a championship together.
And we start asking how many.
Like we said, one project inevitably leads to another.
A summary of Boston championships beginning with the Patriots extraordinary title in 2001: